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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to candles, and more specifically to a method of sealing a candle wick sustainer.
2. Description of the Related Art
During the end stages of candle burning, fire hazards arise from the build-up of excessive heat in the candle interior. A candle is one or more combustible wicks supported by a material that constitutes a fuel, which is solid, semi-solid, or quasi-rigid at room temperature, 68 degrees Fahrenheit to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius to 26 degrees Celsius); it can also contain additives which are used for color, odor, stability, or to modify the burning characteristics; the combined function of which is to sustain a light-producing flame. Candles burn a fuel and produce a flame that vaporizes the fuel, as the fuel is drawn by capillary action to the flame. Candle wicks function by capillary action drawing a fuel from a pool up through a fabric, a thread wick, or a capillary tube. Examples of fuels include solid wax, gel, liquid wax or oil, polymer, oil lamps, and other devices meeting the preceding definition of candle.
During the end stages of the operative life of the candle, the pool of liquid fuel becomes shallow. The fuel in the shallow pool can become hot enough to vaporize and no longer needs the wick to burn. This phenomenon is called flash or flashover. Once the upper surface of the pool descends nearly to the bottom of the candle, the fuel can be elevated above its flashpoint temperature, typically about 425 degrees Fahrenheit with conventional, common fuels. During flashover, an ensuing candle fire may have a temperature elevated to at least 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. The high temperature can ignite vaporized fuel, and a container holding the candle may break violently due to uneven stress on the container caused by the build-up of excessive heat. If the candle has no container, then in the later stages of burning the candle the excessive heat can melt through the sides and bottom of the candle. Liquid fuel can flow onto and soak into surrounding objects and the candle-supporting surface. The fuel can ignite and combust the fuel-soaked surroundings, and a candle fire results.
A problem contributing to flashover and candle fires occurs when carbon particles fall into the pool of liquid fuel, or the user allows matches and wick trimmings to accumulate in the pool. These foreign objects may cause a candle fire by igniting to form secondary wicks. A secondary wick can float off the side of the candle and onto a flammable surface, or supplement the flaming wick to make a flame that is dangerously large.
Some problems resulting in flashover and candle fires, such as uncentered wicks and wicks that fall over, are addressed in conventional candles by using a wick support such as a sustainer. The sustainer provides support to a candle wick by retaining the wick in a passage formed completely through the sustainer. The sustainer keeps the wick standing upright as the previously supporting fuel around the wick becomes liquefied during burning.
As the conventional candle burns, liquid fuel is absorbed into the sides of the wick and carried upwardly to the flame. During the later stages of candle burning, as the upper surface of the pool of liquid fuel descends downwardly toward the top end of the sustainer, the heat from the flame liquefies the fuel surrounding the sustainer. The liquefied fuel flows into the passage opening at the bottom of the sustainer and into contact with the part of the wick that is in the sustainer. The fuel is drawn through the wick upwardly to the flame, which in this way consumes substantially all available fuel. During this process, flashover and candle fires can occur as the depth of the fuel pool decreases.
Flashover and candle fires are problems that cause significant damage and harm. Therefore a need exists for an inexpensive and simple safety measure for preventing or decreasing the likelihood of flashover and candle fires.
The invention is a method of assembling and retaining a wick in a wick sustainer for a candle. The sustainer has a base, a barrel, and a passage extending through the base and the barrel. The wick is inserted into, and protrudes from, an upper region of the passage. A sealant is injected into a lower region of the passage. The sealant seals the passage at a point beneath the wick to prevent the fuel from contacting the wick within the sustainer and reaching the flame by capillary action through the wick. Additionally, the sustainer has a crimp to retain the wick mechanically.
The invention prevents flashover by being directed to a method for sealing the sustainer. Sealing the sustainer restricts fuel from flowing into the sustainer and contacting a part of the wick that is held within the sustainer. The seal causes the flame to be extinguished due to fuel-starvation once the surface of the pool descends below the top of the sustainer. Fuel reaches the candle flame only through the part of the wick that is not held within the sustainer.